Soccer Headline

A goal less than two minutes into the opening overtime period gave the University of Florida soccer team an 1-0 win over Penn State in a match featuring two of the nation’s top teams. UF, the defending NCAA champion, and PSU are both ranked No. 4 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. Penn State was looking for its second big win of the week after defeating then No. 1 North Carolina 3-2 in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sunday. The Gators are now 7-0 this season, while Penn State drops to 3-2.

UF senior captain Sarah Yohe hit the clutch goal for Florida Friday. The match was scoreless in the 90-minutes of regulation, forcing the match to sudden-death overtime. Yohe took the first shot for either team in the overtime period at 91:59, hitting a right-footed 22-yard shot to the upper corner of the far post for her third-consecutive game-winning goal of the season.

"I tried to beat the defender to the ball," Yohe said. "I just tried to get a foot on it before she closed in. I got the shot off and it went in."

Both teams had chances to score during regulation. At the 57-minute mark, PSU’s Bonnie Young sent her shot wide on an empty net attempt. Florida’s Abby Wambach’s second-half diving header just sailed wide of the far post. UF’s goalkeeper Regan Wiesemann forced the match to overtime, getting the stop on Courtney Lawson’s point-blank shot in the final five seconds of regulation. For the match, PSU outshot the Gators 15-10. UF’s Wiesemann turned in a career-high eight saves Friday, while PSU’s Emily Oleksiuk turned in two saves.

"We are obviously very happy to come up here and come away with a win against one of the top teams in the nation. We are also happy to get a shutout against a team that has proven itself to be quite dangerous offensively this season," UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. "This is a good measuring stick performance for a young team like us. Hopefully, it will get us on a roll for the rest of the season."